The NBA has repeatedly and consistently stated that expanding beyond the league’s current 30 teams isn’t on the docket for now, with a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and a new television rights deal to work out first. But if and when the league seriously explores the idea of expansion, Mexico City is viewed as a viable candidate for a team, according to Marc J. Spears of Andscape.
“Expansion is currently not on the docket, but at some point, if we were to turn to expansion, there’s no doubt that Mexico City would have to be one the cities that would be in consideration along with a host of other very big and relevant cities in North America,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum told Spears. “One of the biggest challenges around international expansion has always been the travel issues, the facility issues. But there is a world-class facility in Mexico City in Arena CDMX, which is where we’ve been playing our games and our global games in Mexico. And that’s actually the home of the G League team, the Capitanes. And so that’s not an issue.
“And the travel is not an issue. It’s a pretty short flight for several of our teams, particularly our Texas teams, our Florida teams, our New Orleans team. Arizona actually is a pretty short flight. So, those are all the kinds of things that we would take into consideration, and for those reasons you’d have to consider it. But again, I’d say it’s not immediately on the docket right now.”
There has, of course, never been an NBA franchise located outside the United States or Canada, but there are several reasons why Mexico City – the sixth-largest city in the world and the largest in North America – could be a compelling spot for a team, as Spears explains.
The NBA has played 30 exhibition and regular season games in Mexico City over the last three decades, and there has been enthusiastic fan support so far for the G League’s Mexico City Capitanes, who played their first true home game on Sunday following a multiyear delay related to COVID-19. The city’s Arena CDMX, where the Capitanes play, is an “NBA-quality” building, per Tatum.
Additionally, as Spears notes, a Mexico City franchise would enjoy the support not just of a city or region, but of an entire country, in the same way that Toronto’s team has fans across Canada. Capitanes games air in Mexico on Star+ and ESPN Mexico, which makes them the only NBA-affiliated team besides the Raptors to have a national TV deal.
According to Spears, the biggest questions about a possible Mexico City franchise would be related to player safety, but Tatum and G League officials downplayed those concerns, and NBAGL players who spoke to Andscape and have played in Mexico City said they felt safe in the Polanco neighborhood of the city, which is where Capitanes players live and visiting players stay.
“Mexico life has been great,” said former NBA lottery pick Jahlil Okafor, who currently plays center for the Capitanes. “I’m here with my fiancée. We go to a lot of restaurants and I’m working on my craft trying to get better. I feel extremely safe. I haven’t had any worries. I’m in Polanco, which is one of the best neighborhoods. So, I definitely feel safe.”
Former NBA forward Eduardo Najera is among those who has been advocating for NBA expansion to Mexico City, according to Spears.
“Mexico has been ready for quite some time,” Najera said. “If you look at the metrics and the fans here in Mexico City alone, it’s quite significant. If you do it the right way, an NBA team can galvanize an entire (country). We’re ready. Certainly, the G League is the first step. It is going to be up to the baby steps. If NBA fans in Mexico support this, it will be great to have the big boys here.”
Seattle and Las Vegas have been the two cities most frequently cited as possible expansion locations for when the NBA revisits the possibility.
So you’re going to have the other owners subsidize the Mexico City franchise ? The Mexican $ is in the toilet.
They are going to have to give mid tier free agents the max to go their. And players really won’t want to get traded there
Players will not want to live there. It’s a beautiful city but very dangerous. They don’t want to be targeted by the cartel either
About time for a team in San Juan or México city together with Seattle… forget about Vegas, they have got the casinos already!
When they expand it should be in Las Vegas and Seattle.
Mexico City is a terrible idea for a ton of reasons, least of which is going to be the revenue issues. It doesn’t matter if you sell out the stadium every night if you take in half as much money as a small market club.
Mexico has a population of 130 million. Not counting expatriots. The tv and media income alone would make the team a financial powerhouse. Note the item mentioning that Mexico City is the largest city in North America. Bigger than NYC, which supports two teams. And like Toronto, in a generation the players would adjust their attitudes. With the help of big, big contracts. Most importantly for any expansion committee, multi-billionaires would be lining up to pay the enormous entry fee, which goes directly to current owners without the players getting a share
“It doesn’t matter if you sell out the stadium every night if you take in half as much money as a small market club.”
So they’d sell out every night but somehow make less money than small market teams? How? Do you think the prospective owners (billionaires at that) wouldn’t adjust their ticket prices?
There are plenty of reasons for not expanding into Mexico (player safety, overall crime, cartels, players not wanting to sign there) but fan support and making money isn’t one of them. There are 21 million people in greater metropolitan Mexico City. The team would make money, even with the lower income down there.
Seattle,Louisville, and Las Vegas are much better options.
Mexico City would be idiotic. You want to go international, put a team back in Vancouver.
This is the dumbest thing I’ve heard when it comes to expansion. Which NBA player other than Juan Toscano would wanna play in Mexico
The cartels are gonna live this.
Does the elevation in Denver play into anything? Would that be a concern in Mexico City? I’m old enough to remember the 1968 Olympics, and I remember a LOT of athletes being affected by the altitude.
It’s hilarious that how the average US citizen views Mexico is how the rest of the world views the US…